From school and college cafeterias to military dining facilities and restaurants, there is a growing need to be able to feed large numbers of people quickly and efficiently and in a sanitary manner. When feeding large numbers of people a la carte, it is important to not only dispense certain foods in a sanitary manner, but to dispense them in a portion controlled manner in order to make cost effective use of the product to be dispensed.
Moreover, much food is wasted because it is not completely used, left out uncovered and exposed to airborne bacteria and germs, as well as to those carried by humans and insects, preventing further use. Further, containers of foods such as jelly and peanut butter as well as cream cheese and the like, when used by many people, become messy and sticky, as well as the utensils used to apply them, making them even more unappealing and unappetizing. Moreover, they often become contaminated by each other when the same utensil is used to apply the different products. Not only is the food affected, but so too are the areas in which the food is located, requiring repeated clean up, wasting labor and further adding to the unappealing and unappetizing appearance of the food products.
Finally, many dispensers currently used require electric power to operate, limiting their placement and creating congested areas in the dining facility.